Lieutenant Talyn Rac Part Three: Confrontations
by Sorlk Lewis
“Where the frell is it?”, yelled the Peace Keeper Captain. “Sir, it just isn’t here.” “I can see fool! Rac was supposed to delay their escape!” “Sir, Scorpius is on the com.”, said a timid officer. “Frell! Keep scanning the area. They must still be here!” “Aye sir!” With that, the captain stormed off towards his quarters. The rest of the commando crew scurried off to complete their duties and find the leviathan.
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“We’ll try this one more time. Then Aeryn gets to take over. As you have heard, she’s not good at nice. So, *where* is the Peace Keeper secret base?” John emphasized each word as he said them. Talyn just stared forward. He would refuse to tell them the location, even if they killed him. His Peace Keeper training kicked into full mode once they had left him in his cell. “Fine, be that way!” John sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration once again, “Aeryn! It’s your turn now!” “Crichton, I am going to have Pilot increase the temperature in the cell.”, she replied over the com. “Now common’ Tal. It’s real easy. We don’t’ like hurting people, but Peace Keepers can be an exception. Just tell us what we need to know.”, sighed John. Talyn could feel the temperature increase to a dangerous level for him. Finally, his fear engulfed his seventeen years of training. He weakly said, “Seven metras north of the main commerce town.” “Thank you sooo much. Pilot, turn down the heat for the Lt. here. Have Aeryn meet me in the docking bay.” “All ready done Commander.” John headed out the door. “Would you have done it?”, asked Talyn. John paused, “No way in hezmana.”
“Pilot, you understand to keep Moya hidden behind this moon, right?” “Yes Crichton. Moya understands this.” “Good. Then let’s hit the road jack.”, he said as he hopped behind Aeryn in her Prowler. “Crichton, my name is not jack, and we are not hitting anything.” “It’s an Earth thing, never mind. Let’s just get going.” He pulled the canopy down and Aeryn maneuvered away from Moya.
“OK, I saw this in a movie once. This should work.” “Crichton, whether I say it or not, your plans always work.”, whispered Aeryn. “Well thanks Sunshine. Count to twenty microts, then do what I told you. Got it?” “Yes.” John positioned himself above the guard. He and Aeryn were sitting on a beam, overlooking the first Peace Keeper guard station. He calmed himself by taking four deep breaths, on the last one he leaped on top of the guard. It was to late, they were trapped. The whole frelling thing had been one trap upon another. Peace Keepers swarmed over John and the other guard. “Aeryn! Run!”, yelled John as the guards pinned him to the ground. She had to listen to him. She could only save him, if she first saved herself. Aeryn leaped into the access shaft that had brought them there. She could hear the guards struggling to catch up with her. She could still hear John telling her to run. She complied. After several microns, the access shaft opened into the woods. Her Prowler was sitting in a small clearing a few microts away. She used all of her strength to get into the Prowler and then take off. Aeryn sped away from the planet towards Moyas’ hiding place.
He had seen them as soon as he had jumped. It was another trap. Just one more to add to my list of ‘Things to Never Do Again’. John knew it was hopeless to struggle, but he did anyway. As soon as he hit the ground, the Peace Keepers were all over him. He could only think of Aeryn right then. “Aeryn! Run!”, he yelled as he was being pinned down. John could see nothing except for a blur of black and red uniforms all about him. He felt a sharp blow to his head and then everything went black.
When he awoke, he was facing a Peace Keeper captain. Thank god it isn’t Crais or Scorpius. He thought to himself. “Good morning Commander Crichton, or is it Captain Larraq?” John just tried to clear his head some more. His vision was fuzzy and he felt as though he had been hit by a semi-truck. “Very well then. Scorpius will be here soon enough. What he has not already *obtained* from you, he will rip out when he arrives. Let me introduce myself, I am Captain Rac.” John voice was gravely when he spoke, “Oh, so you must know Talyn.” The captain just scowled. He had raised Talyn as his own son when his father had died. He had instilled every piece of knowledge of his into that boy, not to mention put his career on the line countless times for him. “I’ll take that as a yes.”, croaked John. One of Johns’ eyes was swollen shut and he felt as if he had a cracked rib or two. “Scorpius didn’t feel like playing nice anymore, did he?” Rac smiled, “No, he does. I just don’t feel like it.” John struggled to get up, but was just pushed down again by Captain Rac. “Is there a doctor in the house?”, joked Crichton. Rac just stood up and kicked him in the stomach. John started to cough and choke. “Get a med tech in here.”, Rac ordered the Lieutenant with him. “Yes Sir.” The Lt. turned on his heel and left swiftly to get a med tech for the human. Rac bent down to meet Johns eyes once more, “I am going to have fun with you Crichton.”
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“Did you know of this!?”, screamed Aeryn as she stuffed her weapon in Talyns’ face. He coughed from the chokehold she had on him, “What are you talking about?” “What am I talking about!? I am talking about the frelling trap down there! You set us up again!” Tayln was starting to become concerned; Aeryn would almost certainly kill him. “I… didn’t… know.”, he gasped as her grip tightened on both his throat and on the trigger. “What do you know then!?”, as she yelled this she loosened her chokehold on her half bother. “All I was told is to infiltrate the leviathan, befriend the crew, and hold you here until the commando squad arrived. That was all.” Aeryn didn’t believe him, but she had to. “All right then. Will you help me rescue the others?” “No!” With that, Aeryn squeezed his windpipe shut once more, “What will you do then?”, she asked sarcastically.
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Scorpius was becoming impatient. He still had no news of Crichton or the leviathan. “Sir?” “Yes Lieutenant?”, he growled. “Captain Rac reports success in capturing the human.” With that news, the Scaren half breeds cold eyes lit up, “Continue Lieutenant.” The young officer swallowed hard, “He has no information on the leviathan, however. The defector, Aeryn Sun, still eludes capture. There has been nothing on Lt. Talyn Rac as of now.” “Very well Lieutenant, dismissed.” “Yes Sir.” He now had his patience back, and he would soon have wormhole technology.
To Be Continued…